Heathrow aims high

HEATHROW chief Colin Matthews is a big fan of the Japanese philosophy of kaizen, or continuous improvement.

Matthews, who spent three years of his early career in Japan with car parts maker Lucas, says the Japanese have excelled in car-making and other industries by continually improving things.

“I like that Japanese determination to say, ‘let’s make sure next month or next year we’ll be a bit better’,” he said.

Matthews claims that approach is working at Heathrow, with surveys showing 75 per cent of passengers were satisfied last month, compared with 40 per cent in 2007. The airport is investing just under £6billion between 2008 and 2014, including re-building Terminal Two, and plans to spend £3billion up to 2019.

But he knows the journey to make it better is set to be long and turbulent. Heathrow, which has two runways, is facing opposition to its ambition to build a third.

The coalition blocked new runway plans amid anger from local residents and MPs, green campaigners and London Mayor Boris Johnson, who wants a new Thames Estuary airport. But fears that London is losing out to European rivals like Paris and Frankfurt prompted ministers to order a review, which will report in 2015. Matthews backed the review, led by former FSA boss Sir Howard Davies, saying: “If we get broad agreement about the right solution, it would be a big achievement and we’re up for it.”

If you squeeze business out of Heathrow, it does not pop up at Gatwick and Stansted

Colin Matthews

Heathrow, which is nearly full, has claimed its lack of runways costs Britain £14billion a year in lost trade. It said the answer is a single hub airport where international passengers can change flights, by expanding Heathrow or building a hub elsewhere. Just over a third of Heathrow’s traffic is international connections.

Matthews said a hub makes long-haul flights more viable and another Heathrow runway would damage the environment less than building two more elsewhere.

“I’ll let the Heathrow argument speak for itself. We would have more flights to long-haul destinations if we had more capacity. If you squeeze business out of Heathrow, it does not pop up at Gatwick and Stansted – it pops up in Paris and Frankfurt.”

He added: “Every project has supporters and opponents and the idea we’ll find a solution that doesn’t cause opposition in some quarters isn’t going to happen.” Heathrow’s owner Ferrovial dropped its BAA title and re-named it Heathrow after it sold Gatwick and Edinburgh airports amid competition concerns and is also selling Stansted. It still owns Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports. Matthews said: “The Competition Commission process was well advanced, so it was not a huge surprise.”